Saturday, April 30, 2016

Kensington Roof Gardens
Derry Street, off Kensington High Street
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
London, September 2015

“The Roof Gardens (formerly known as Derry and Toms Roof Gardens and Kensington Roof Gardens) is a roof garden covering 6,000 m2 (1.5 acres) on top of the former Derry and Toms building on Kensington High Street, in central London, in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. They have for a long time been the largest roof garden in Europe, but was surpassed by the roof garden on the shopping mall Emporia in 2012. Facilities include a restaurant and club.”

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

“Roger Dixon and Stefan Muthesius call the Doulton pottery complex, as it originally stood, ‘one of the most comprehensive commercial establishments in any city’ and, like Gavin Stamp, say that its slender 233' high factory chimney to the right was ‘a slim version of the campanile of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence’ (135). It is thought to have been suggested by Ruskin himself. These Thames-side buildings with their prominent give-away chimney were targeted in World War II, gutted during air raids and demolished in the 1950s. Royal Doulton moved its operations to Stoke-on-Trent in 1856. It is sad that most of Doulton's London pottery premises were lost, but lucky that at least one building remains to give us some idea of what an impressive landmark they must have made.”

Sunday, April 24, 2016

“On 21 December 1873 Liu Yongfu and around 600 Black Flags, marching beneath an enormous black banner, approached the west gate of Hanoi. A large Vietnamese army followed in their wake. Garnier began shelling the Black Flags with a field piece mounted above the gate, and when they began to fall back he led a party of 18 French marine infantrymen out of the city to chase them away. The attack failed. Garnier, leading three men uphill in a bayonet attack on a party of Black Flags, was stabbed and hacked to death by several Black Flag soldiers after stumbling in a watercourse.”

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Church of San Trovaso by Francesco Smeraldi, 1584
(dedicated to sts. Gervasius and Protasius)
Campo San Trovaso, Dorsoduro
Venice, September 2013

“The name is a Venetian blending of three saints: San Protasio and San Gervasio (Gervasius and Protasius) twin brothers and martyrs from Milan who were also the sons of martyrs, and San Crisogno (Saint Chrysogonus) an ancient Roman saint martyred in Aquila. The 10th Century church was rebuilt by the Barbarigo and Caravella families in 1028 and again after the fire of 1105. The nave of this building collapsed on 11th September 1583, with work on the present church beginning in the following year, probably to a design by Francesco Smeraldi, a pupil of Palladio, although sometimes Palladio himself is credited with the design, which is unlikely as he had died 3 years before the collapse. Consecration followed in 1657. There was hefty restoration work in the 19th Century, especially to the altars. Further work, mostly on the roof, was carried out in 1987.”

Thursday, April 21, 2016

“The church is documented going back to 1029. It was part of a monastery built over pre-existing edifices, and, until the 15th century, it had also a hospital. In the 12th century it was held by the Camaldolese monks. The church has a nave and two aisles. The façade is preceded by a portico supported by pilasters and a central columns. The second row has mullioned windows and decorations with lozenges and small circular windows, with ceramic basins by Islamic masters. The interior has ancient Roman capitals and traces of medieval paintings.”

Monday, April 18, 2016

“Commissioned by the company that owns Karpo restaurant and the Megaro Hotel, four street artists have completed a huge 450 square metre mural immediately opposite St Pancras International station in London… The mural, which encompasses two sides of the five storey Georgian building in which both Karpo and the Megaro Hotel are situated, was designed and painted by four members of street art collective, Agents of Change: Remi/Rough from London, Edinburgh-based Steve More, LX.One from Paris, and LA-based Augustine Kofie. It took two weeks to complete and over 150 litres of emulsion and 160 litres of spray paint were used.”

“This is the house where Giuseppe Mazzini spent the last years of his life and where he died on 10 March 1872. Practically rebuilt after the damages of the Second World War, it is now a museum dedicated to his life and works: the lettering on the facade of the building represent the verbose oath of the Giovine Italia (Young Italy), written by Mazzini himself in 1831 in Marseille.”

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

“When the Berlin Wall was built in 1961 the bridge became part of East Berlin's border with West Berlin; as all the waters of the River Spree were in Friedrichshain, the East German fortifications extended to the shoreline on the Kreuzberg side. The West Berlin U-Bahn line was forced to terminate at Schlesisches Tor. Beginning on 21 December 1963, the Oberbaum Bridge was used as a pedestrian border crossing for West Berlin residents only.”

Monday, April 11, 2016

“The Opificio delle pietre dure, literally meaning Workshop of semi-precious stones, is a public institute of the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage based in Florence. It is a global leader in the field of art restoration and provides teaching as one of two Italian state conservation schools (the other being the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro). The institute maintains also a specialist library and archive of conservation and a museum displaying historic examples of pietre dure inlaid semi-precious stones artefacts. A scientific laboratory conducts research and diagnostics and provides a preventive conservation service.” (Opificio delle pietre dure, Wikipedia)

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Friday, April 8, 2016

The Walbrook Building by Foster + Partners, 2010
Walbrook, City of London
London, September 2015

“The facade is articulated as a series of bays, which refer to the domestic scale of the buildings that originally stood here and have the effect of extending the site boundary to optimise the plan area. While the scheme's massing is determined by the historical fabric of the city, the horizontal bands of reflective brise soleil are a contemporary statement in an area where planning guidance has traditionally favoured the use of stone. Made of a glass-fibre-reinforced polymer - a material more commonly used in the bodywork of cars - the louvres wrap the entire building, unifying the main volume with the receding upper levels, so that from the street the facade appears as a continuous arc.”

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Dining suspended 25 meters in the air
Upper Ground, South Bank
London, September 2015

“Last year's inaugural London in the Sky event - when adventurous diners were treated to a three course meal 25 metres above Canary Wharf - was so successful that it's back in 2015 for an extended fourteen-day stay. This time the platform will be suspended above the South Bank - changed from its original location at St Katharine Docks - next to the BFI, Hayward Gallery and Queen Elizabeth Hall. The air-bourne restaurant which seats 22 (strapped in) guests employs some of London's finest chefs including Dan Doherty of Duck & Waffle, Robert Ortiz of Lima, Mark Sargeant of Morden & Lea, Sophie Michell of Pont St, and Mike Reid of M Restaurants.” (London in the Sky, LondonTown)

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

“The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone and has windows with stone bars. It passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the New Prison (Prigioni Nuove) to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace. It was designed by Antonio Contino (whose uncle Antonio da Ponte had designed the Rialto Bridge) and was built in 1600.” (Bridge of Sighs, Wikipedia)